Even after witnessing the horrors of 9/11 that included me helplessly watching
the murder of my husband on live television, I still believe that we are a civilized
nation of laws. And like the Nuremberg trials that brought the murderers of
millions to justice, now more than ever, Americans need to trust our own judicial
system to fully and openly prosecute the mass murderers of 9/11 while the rest
of the world bears witness.

Because while the terrorists were successful in bringing down the Twin Towers
and hijacking airplanes on 9/11, our Constitution should never be hijacked or
brought down as a result of anything--let alone the potential adversity faced
in prosecuting modern day monsters like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Indeed, in the fight against Islamist extremism, we should never bow to the
terrorists by compromising, manipulating, re-writing or flat-out ignoring the
core, bedrock principles of our Constitution that speak to the very heart of
who we are as a nation--a democracy.

Yet, quite alarmingly, Republicans seem to be exhibiting just this sort of
crisis of confidence in our Constitution's ability to prosecute these horrible
men. Republicans argue that men like KSM are war criminals who can only be convicted
in military commissions where they won't receive the protections of our laws.
Republicans seem to lack a certain faith in our Constitution's ability and adaptability
in meting out the demands of modern day justice.

So the once-brazen, chest-thumping Republicans who preemptively started a war
in Iraq, claimed mission accomplished, and ordained that they wanted Osama Bin
Laden's head on a platter, are now off crying in a corner lost in their own
feigned anger and fear. Complaining that it will be too dangerous. Worried that
it will make New York City a target.

First, I've got news for anyone who didn't already know this: New York has
been, is, and will always be a terrorist target. That's why many of us wanted
millions spent on hardening domestic soft targets like NYC (and mass transportation
systems, chemical plants, nuclear plants, borders, etc). But after 9/11, the
Bush Administration chose instead to spend billions on starting a war in Iraq.

Indeed, in the quantitative analysis of what truly makes us a terrorist target,
holding a trial in the Southern District of New York does not top the list.
The war in Iraq wins that contest hands down. And the Bush Administration's
illegal torture policies come in at a close second. These are the things that
have fomented the most hatred towards Americans and placed us at the highest
risk from terrorist attack.

To be clear, the only danger posed by prosecuting men like KSM in an open court
in New York is the red alert it poses to the Republican Party's faltering reputation
in fighting their "war on terror."

And that is the real reason why Republicans are supporting the use of military
commissions instead of Article III courts. Because military commissions are
held in secret. Republicans want the dirty, damning truth about their failed
torture policies to remain hidden away from public view. And they'll use every
lame excuse in the book to get their way.

God forbid, the truth came out about torture. Imagine the worst--that KSM,
one of the world's most heinous terrorists, is set free after the evidence needed
to convict him is thrown out because it was illegally obtained through torture.
Imagine further that KSM's torture bore no fruit at all--in other words, it
provided no information that prevented any attacks or saved any lives. In essence,
KSM's torture proved useless and counter-productive. Talk about a public relations
nightmare for the party who once with grand cowboy swagger announced that they'd
bring 'em all to justice.

But will KSM ever walk free? Absolutely not. First, haven't we all seen enough
Law & Order re-runs to know that prosecutors don't proceed with cases unless
they know they've got the goods to convict? Not to mention that KSM also made
a self-admission about planning the 9/11 attacks on al-Jazeera long before he
was captured and tortured by our government. So I'm confident that even taking
into account all the mishandling and mistakes made by the Bush Administration,
KSM will not be set free.

However, remain cognizant that were such an acquittal even remotely possible,
it would not be due to any shortcomings of our nation's 200-year-old, well-established
legal process. Nor would it be a result of some wily terrorist making a "mockery
of our rule of law." Rather, responsibility for such a ghastly acquittal
would fall squarely on the shoulders of Republicans like Dick Cheney, Donald
Rumsfeld, and Alberto Gonzales--those who in a panic after 9/11, breathlessly
ordered the illegal use of torture because they didn't know what else to do.
And that, folks, is the big dark dirty secret that Republicans don't want any
of us to find out.

But, the prosecutors in the Southern District of NY do know what their doing--especially
when it comes to winning terrorist convictions. Moreover, long established safeguards
will be in place to protect sources, methods and any other classified information
from leaking to the public. In fact, because we are a democracy, KSM will be
given a fair trial, in an open courtroom facing certain and swift justice just
steps from Ground Zero. And once convicted, he will receive the maximum penalty--death.

When that happens, 8 years after 9/11, justice will have finally prevailed.

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